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Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Happy Birthday Arleigh

That song, we usually sing for every birthday, "It's Arleigh's Birthday and I'm so glad. I hope it's the happiest birthday Arleigh ever had." I'm seriously betting that Arleigh could make a fabulous argument for it's really not. We are going to make up for it though.

Arleigh was due on Christmas eve. I was not happy. I didn't want her to have to give up her birthday for Christmas. I imagined people handing her a gift saying, "Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas." or "Happy Birthday, hope you don't mind the Christmas wrap, it's all we have right now." Because of that I've gone over the top every year to make sure her day was special, until this year.

Yesterday Hanan was in a Christmas musical. Mom is coming today. My house looks like it's been through 3 hurricanes, 4 tornadoes and a dust storm for good measure. I have 2 weeks of work at church to do in about 3 days. I still need to do laundry and pack. Then there are the school Christmas parties, shopping, baking and well, this year, Arleigh's special day took a back burner. Not for long.

We gave Arleigh the Glam Glitter Nail Machine that she's been coveting since she saw the first jinglicious commercial. She got to pick her favorite place to have a nice dinner, Cheesecake Factory. She's going to Chuck E. Cheese with her cousins in KY. Then, when we get back, she is going to have a spa party. I think in the end, she's getting more than one child should. Can you say overcompensation?

I stealing an idea from another blog and listing 8 things about Arleigh that I love since she's turning 8. Remember, this is also my scrapbook to one day print for the girls. Feel free to stop here before I start to gush. Here goes...

1. I love that Arleigh has a true love for God and wants to spread his message to anyone and everyone who will stand still and listen. She has a gift for talking about her Christian life that I envy.

2. I love that Arleigh has finally stopped wetting the bed. (Did I really just say that?) She may want to kill me, but it's a struggle that she overcame this year. It's a fabulous blessing for both of us.

3. I love that Arleigh is so much like her daddy. She is a miniature, female version of Ray. I see him in her almost every second of every day. This could also be on a thing that frustrates me most about her, but 99.9% of the time, I love it.

4. I love how independant she is.

5. I love how much she loves her sisters and tries her hardest to take care of them.

6. I love, love, love that she loves to read. She dives right into a good book just like I did at her age.

7. I love that Arleigh wants to be a teacher like her Grandma. I love that she plays school with Hanan almost every afternoon. Sometimes, if she's in a very generous mood, she lets Bria in on it too.

8. I love to listen to Arleigh play the piano. She is diligent with her practice and she's getting really good.

There are at least 1,001 other things that I love about her but those are at the top of my list and the tip of my tongue. Happy Birthday Sweet Cheeks!